Eva Moe

Tag: watanoc

  • List of Listening and Learning Habits: April – May 2026

    Got more CDs for my car, just in time for the potholes to be nearly filled in. Still, driving over a big bump skips the CD, why does that hurt my feelings more than the potential tire damage?

    On Repeat

    1. Labcabincalifornia – The Pharcyde. Great album, genuinely fun despite some of the serious topics discussed, which is the correct recipe for these trying times. Odd to listen to something in 1995 that still feels relevant. Bootie Brown’s clear voice is the cherry on top.
    2. Hayden Pedigo – any of his solo works, but I’ll Be Waving As You Drive Away paired very well with yardwork over the weekend. I was house-sitting for my friends and felt like rearranging their lawn furniture. Outside in the sun on a spring day? Seltzer in hand? Are you kidding?
    3. “Force of Habit” – Paris Texas. Good to walk to and groove with.
    4. Middle of Nowhere – Kacey Musgraves. Just listened for the first time yesterday, so it hasn’t had time to sit. However, I liked her lyrics right away. Thought I’d give her a shot after hearing she’s bringing a teenage mariachi band on tour. The brothers were abducted by ICE this year, and now they’re opening for a big name. I hope this inspires other artists to uplift marginalized communities.
      Partial to “Dry Spell” no reason no reason. Also “Abilene” is quite catchy.

    Japanese Study

    As for learning, I’m back on my bullshit WaniKani and heavy into the Japanese study groove once again. In April, I finished reading my very first manga in Japanese! Why did it take me this long? I don’t know but baby it’s a MILESTONE!

    The manga was Chi’s Sweet Home Vol. 1 which uses mostly kana and some animal pronunciations (which is honestly harder to read than Kanji). Since then, I’ve also finished Vol. 2!

    ALSO just discovered Watanoc.com thanks to the WaniKani forums. It’s a free, online Japanese magazine for N5-N3 learners. You can tell teachers designed this, because it lets you hover over vocabulary and grammar and has a translated summary for each section. ALSO, you aren’t able to hover over vocabulary or grammar that repeats multiple times in an article, so you will get the English definition the first time, but must recall it the next time it appears. It’s not perfect, but it’s fun!

    I like to choose an article, read one section and guess at the meaning. Then hover over vocabulary and grammar I don’t know (hiragana vocab + grammar is currently my weak spot). Then I read the article two more times.

    A fun game is to drink a sip of water/coffee/tea each time there’s a word from WaniKani.

    Stay warm,
    Eva